


Family History

by RyuRedwings



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Friendship, I swear they're just friends, Implied Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), OC, Post-Calamity Ganon, Sheikah Culture, post ganon defeat, sheikah oc, the power of friendship compels you, where the lore is made up and the canon doesn't matter, zelda oc - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-20 17:30:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17626565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuRedwings/pseuds/RyuRedwings
Summary: After a Lizalfos ambush lands Rika in the infirmary, Prince Sidon takes it upon himself to watch over his friend and ensure her quick recovery. Rika is less then pleased, but begins to suspect that there's more to the Zora prince's fretting then he's letting on.





	Family History

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as an idea I told my husband about in the car, and then evolved into the little story you see here. I hope you like it!  
> Rika is a Zelda OC that I've had in the works for a while, and will eventually be taking part in her own story. It just needs to wait its turn in the queue as I finish up some of my longer projects. But to make things quick, Rika's background is that she accompanied Link on his journey around Hyrule to destroy Calamity Ganon to record his adventure for posterity. (Yes, I personified the save function.) This story takes place post-game.  
> If you enjoy this story, I think you'll like what she'll be in next when the time finally comes to reveal her and Link's whole story.  
> Enjoy!

She woke up, and immediately regretted it. Rika’s entire body ached, some spots more than others, and there was a distinct, dull throbbing on one side of her head.  
She wasn’t in the forest anymore. Rain wasn’t pouring down around her while shock arrows threatened to knock her unconscious and shock her into oblivion. She didn’t see or hear Link, didn’t hear Zelda screaming in terror at the ambush they were surrounded by. She definitely wasn’t in the tree she had scrambled up to shoot at the black Lizalfos that had leaped from the bushes before getting knocked out of it by a water bullet she hadn’t seen in time.  
She was in a dimly lit room, light drifting over the ceiling in light blue ripples, and she could hear the gentle trickle of water. She looked around, and instantly recognized the elegant furniture and blue stone of the Zora Domain. There were gleaming shelves filled with bottles, cloth, and metal instruments she couldn’t quite make out in the shadows of night.  
It hit her that she was in the infirmary, and looked to her right. There was another bed set up, and she was surprised she hadn’t heard Link first before seeing him. He was snoring, though not loud enough to be completely obnoxious, and spread out on the bed like he usually did. She could see the top of Zelda’s blonde head nestled somewhere in the crook of one of his elbows, the princess clinging to one of his arms. Link’s arm was curled slightly around her, his hand gently tucked into a few locks of her hair.  
Rika would have giggled at the sight if it didn’t hurt to breathe too deeply. She knew she was going to feel falling out of that tree for a while, but she wasn’t sure what other bruises and cuts she probably had from the other black Lyzalfo that had immediately sprung on her once she had hit the ground. She was sure she’d be seeing a spear coming towards her face in her dreams for weeks. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, wincing at the throb in her head and the rawness in her knuckles.  
She suddenly became aware of a presence next to her left, and jumped. Pain exploded in her side and she hissed, curling into a ball as she choked down a cry of agony.  
“Miss Rika?!”  
She squinted up at the looming figure she had seen out of the corner of her eye, and saw that it was Sidon, the prince worriedly bent over her while she gritted her teeth.  
“Are you alright? What happened?” he asked.  
She was going to kill him. As soon as she could get up that is.  
“Urgh-! You scared the daylights out of me-!!” she panted. She waved a hand at him, trying to get him to move away from her even though he wasn’t that close to begin with.  
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to!”  
She saw him move back to where he had come from, which had been an impossibly small chair for him next to her bed. She hadn’t even noticed it earlier. She sat up despite the still fresh ache in her right side, and looked at him.  
“What on earth are you doing here?” she whispered to him, glancing back over to Link and Zelda. Neither of them seemed to have stirred from her pained groans.  
Sidon hesitated, his eyes drifting over to Link and Zelda for a moment. He quietly cleared his throat, and leaned down so she could hear him.  
“Well, Link had Zelda to watch over him while the nurses tended to him, and I didn’t want you to wake up all by yourself…” he said, not quite meeting her gaze as he tried to explain. “...I thought you might appreciate having a friend nearby when you did…”  
He frowned, his expression changing to one of stern worry. “And we weren’t quite sure when you would wake up either,” he said, tilting his head as if to get a better look at her.  
Rika rubbed her temple, wincing the slightest as she did, and internally cursing her bad luck for the day. Usually she could handle anything Hyrule threw at her, but somehow she had been off balance enough to almost have her head bashed in by a screeching lizard monster.  
“How did you find us?” she asked him, pulling her legs up close to her. She wanted to sit cross legged like she usually did, but moving her abdomen too much only made sparks of pain shoot across her side. She could already feel her back beginning to ache from sitting up, and she leaned back into her pillows.  
“Ah, one of our scouts happened to see you all when the fight started,” he said. “And he was able to get reinforcements, but by the time we were able to get out there…”  
Sidon paused, something making him hesitate in continuing his explanation. Rika cocked her head as she waited for him to keep going.  
“...Link was alright, if not a little worse for wear, but you, ah, didn’t look very good,” he said. Sidon shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Miss Rika, you are a fine warrior from what I’ve seen you demonstrate, but if you don’t mind me asking... What exactly happened to you?”  
Rika had hoped that question wouldn’t be coming. It was honestly embarrassing even thinking about it; both her pride and her body had been wounded in one shot and she didn’t want to ruminate on it right after she had woken up. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, and leaned back even further into the pillows. She glanced over at the still sleeping Link and Zelda, wanting to make sure their quiet conversation wasn’t going to wake them.  
“It was an ambush,” she said, looking down at her hands. They were both pretty bruised from trying to foolishly grab a few branches on her way down the pine tree she had scrambled up. “So, I did what I always do, and I climbed up a tree, yknow? Link handles the front and I pick off the ones in the back that try to sneak up on him…”  
Rika rubbed the back of her neck, and immediately bite back a hiss, dropping her hand.  
“And then a stupid Lizalfos managed to get me with a stupid water bullet, and I fell out of the tree. Next thing I know, I’ve got three of those suckers trying to either spear me alive, or bash my head in,” she grumbled, folding her arms petulantly. She rubbed her right side, the side of her abdomen that screamed whenever she moved. “I’m lucky my armor can take a lot. If I hadn’t been wearing it, I’d have nice, new hole in my stomach.”  
Sidon waved a hand, a wry smile on his face as he leaned forward.  
“Ah, no, let’s not have any of that happening again any time soon,” he said, his smile halfway between teasing and anxious.  
Rika only sighed again, tilting her head back as she mentally grumbled about how a chance mistake landed her unconscious in the infirmary with the prince of the Zora watching over her because he was afraid she would be lonely. She looked back over to him as another thought occurred to her.  
“Wait, how long have you been sitting there?” she asked him.  
“Uh…” Sidon seemed to shrink as best as he could in the comically small chair he was sitting in. It actually surprised her to see him react as he was; he was normally the picture of confidence. There seemed to be something off about him, but it was hard to figure out what. The dull ache that seemed ready to roar into full, sharp agony if she moved too quickly or too much wasn’t the best for her being able think and focus on things.  
“Ever since they brought you, really,” he admitted.  
“And how long have I been in here?”  
“The whole day.”  
Rika opened her mouth, ready to chastise him, but then quickly shut it. If she blurted out what she was thinking, it’d wake up Link and Zelda for sure. Instead, she pressed her mouth together into a thin line, scowling at him from where she sat.  
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said once she knew she wouldn’t yell at him like she wanted to. “Don’t you have important things to do around the domain? Like, meetings, and overseeing the guards? You’ve been sitting here the whole time I’ve just been lying in bed?!”  
She was whispering as loudly as she dared, ignoring Sidon’s cautionary, waving hands as his eyes darted over her head to wear their sleeping friends were. A light moan followed by a gentle shuffle made them both freeze, and Rika slowly turned her head to see that all that had happened was that Link had rolled over, facing away from them.  
“Making sure my friends are safe is also important,” Sidon quickly whispered after a moment went by. “I can take care of whatever duties I have at my leisure, but people, especially my dear companions, take priority over meetings and paperwork.”  
Rika folded her arms, and huffed again. She knew that the pain was making her temper shorter than usual, but it was hard to focus on that. Sidon himself wasn’t annoying, but she didn’t like being looked after for long periods of time. She was used to taking care of herself, usually after making sure everyone else was already settled, and Sidon putting aside his usual schedule only irked her feeling of independence.  
“Well, I’m awake,” she said, making a slight shooing motion with her hand. “You can go now, and sit some place where it doesn’t look like you’re going to fall over any second.”  
Sidon put his hands up. “Oh, no, I’m perfectly fine! Are you sure you don’t need anything right now?” he said.  
“Sido-”  
Rika was cut off by the distinct and loud gurgling of a stomach. She shut her mouth, feeling her face instantly burst into flames. Sidon only blinked at her.  
“...Are you hungry?” he asked her, tilting his head in uncertain bewilderment.  
Rika had already covered her face with her hands.  
“I-I can wait until morning,” she said, her voice muffled behind her fingers. She was fairly certain that if she tried to look at Sidon she’d either sink straight through the bed, or die on the spot.  
Her stomach didn’t seem to care as it rumbled once again, and Sidon’s soft laughter wasn’t helping her stop wishing that the Lizalfos had done her in back in the woods.  
“I’m sure we could get you something down in the kitchens,” Sidon offered. “It wouldn’t be any trouble.”  
Rika looked at him over her fingertips. “...That would be appreciated,” she said.  
She looked around herself, trying to gauge her own body, and how well she could move. She didn’t think getting out of bed would be that hard, but walking to the kitchens…  
It would most likely hurt since her back was starting to complain about holding her up after falling flat on it. But she had walked and done lots of things while she was on pain before; she was a girl, after all. She could handle walking down a few flights of stairs.  
She started to pull the covers off.  
“What are you doing?” Sidon asked.  
“Going down to the kitchens to get some food.”  
“What?” He started to get up, looking like he was going to try and stop her.  
“No, no, you need to rest,” he said. “Let me go and get you something, you shouldn’t walk all the way down there.”  
Rika rolled her eyes, continuing what she was doing.  
“You really think we’ll be able to eat in here without the bottomless pit waking up?” she said, jerking her thumb back to the still sleeping Link.  
Sidon fell silent as he seemed to consider her point, and Rika tried swinging her legs off the bed. She gritted her teeth, feeling her back twinge and other spots on her body she hadn’t noticed before aching as she moved, now including her neck and backside. She hadn’t even thought about the rest of her body, but she had definitely landed hard on everything back there.  
She managed to swing her legs over the side, hoping that Sidon couldn’t see or hear her nearly starting to pant from the effort of trying to move without growling in pain, and took a moment to collect herself again. Standing would most likely be better than sitting and moving around on tender areas, or at least that’s what she hoped.  
Sidon looked on as she carefully shimmied her way across the bed, until her feet finally touched the floor. Her back had already begun to protest, Rika feeling the lower half compressing from trying to hold her own body weight up, but she could push through it. It wouldn’t be so bad.  
And then she was suddenly scooped up, Sidon easily slipping his arms underneath her while she was half way to standing up, and she was being carried towards the infirmary doors before she could even think to stop him. If it wasn’t for her first instinct of not wanting to wake up Link and Zelda, she would have screeched bloody murder the second she had realized what was going on. Instead she only went totally still and quiet, blinking and trying to figure what exactly had just happened as Sidon strode across the room, and out into the brightly lit hallway.  
Rika watched the ceiling go by for a moment, still not moving an inch as Sidon walked.  
“....Sidon, put me down.”  
“No.”  
Rika stared up at him, trying to wrap her head around the fact that Prince Sidon of the Zora had actually told her no. He never told anyone no. If anything, he had a hard time not saying yes to everyone for everything. Rika sat up a little bit more, or at least tried. It was difficult trying to sit up when being carried by someone else.  
“Sidon, put me down!” she demanded again.  
“No.” he said again, staring straight ahead. Rika ground her teeth, knowing he wasn’t looking at her on purpose.  
“Sidon, put me down, right now!!!” Her voice was a venomous growl now. She would not be coddled like this!  
“So you can hurt yourself even more than you already are?” He finally glanced down at her, giving her a stern look in the face of her obviously mounting rage. “I think not. Just be patient, we’ll be down there in no time.”  
“I’m not that hurt!!” Rika snapped, trying to find a way to scramble out of his large arms. “For goodness sake, I can walk!! Just put me down already!!”  
“Absolutely not.”  
Rika saw red, her frustration and raging pride biting into her all at once. The throbbing in her head and side wasn’t helping, and the only thing she wanted to do was to walk on her own! She was going to strangle him.  
“Sidon, you put me down, or I’m going to rip those damn fins off the side of your head!!” she snarled at him.  
“Can you even reach them?” he grumbled, the beginnings of annoyance starting to show on Sidon’s face as he started to go down the first flight of stairs.  
Rika was instantly shocked into silence, her jaw dropping open. Sidon’s gaze flickered down at her, the annoyance shifting to a hint of concern at her sudden silence, but he looked back ahead just as quickly. Rika looked down, folding her arms, and stopped squirming.  
She was known for her harsh comments, especially when she was angry or frustrated, and this wouldn’t have been the first time Sidon had taken the brunt of her rage. But he had never, not once, ever sassed her back as she usually did him. She didn’t ever think she’d even seen him angry before. The shock had been extremely effective in snapping her out of her pride-fueled tantrum though, and she could feel her ears starting to burn in embarrassment.  
She knew she was in more pain then she wanted to admit to him, and it was definitely making her more short tempered, but she shouldn’t lash out at her friend. He was only trying to help her, and was most likely right in forcing her to be more cautious. He had a point that walking down three flights of stairs and then some would have most likely have only made her injure herself even more. The shame and embarrassment burned through her, making her wish she had been able to keep her mouth shut for once. She must have really pushed him to make him snap back at her, even if it was as light as it was.  
Sidon glanced down at her after nearly a full minute of silence and walking.  
“...Oho, what’s this? Run out of poison for me?” He gently teased her.  
Rika flushed more, almost pouting as she looked down even more at the ground.  
“...I’d never actually do that, you know,” she said, not meeting his gaze. “I could really hurt you if I did.”  
Sidon sighed, sounding as if he wanted to roll his eyes at her seriousness. “I know,” he said. “It’s alright, I know you didn’t mean it.”  
“Still, I’m sorry I said it,” she said, sinking back into herself a little, and letting herself relax in his hold. She felt pins and needles in her lower back as the muscles released from trying to hold her up for so long. It didn’t seem like he was getting tired from carrying her, so she might as well take advantage of the support while she could.  
“I’m not…” She paused, trying to figure out how to express herself calmly. It wasn’t something she did very often.  
“I don’t like not being able to do things myself,” she finally admitted. “And a lot of the time, it doesn’t matter if I’m hurt or not; if I’m not the one doing things, it won’t get done. I don’t have the luxury of asking people to help me.”  
Sidon sighed again, and carefully readjusted how he was holding her so she could lie back more, supporting her back with his shoulder.  
“Miss Rika, I know you serve many people,” he said when he was done. “But your friends care you for very deeply, myself included, and I’ve seen how dedicated you are to the ones you’ve sworn to help and protect. I think it would do you some good to let those around you serve you for a little while, and be able to return the favor.”  
Rika leaned back into the extra support, quiet from being both tired and contemplative. She was hearing him, but she didn’t want to repeat what she had just said. Asking for help was very difficult for her; she had lived a majority of her life where help wasn’t there, and wouldn’t come. It usually didn’t occur to her at all to ask anyone around to help her out with anything. She was most likely very lucky that her friends, especially Link, would just show up and help her without even asking.  
She looked up at him, and thought back to how she had woken up with him at her bedside.  
“Is that why you didn’t want to leave me alone in the infirmary?” she asked him.  
Sidon glanced down at her, but quickly looked back up down the hallway.  
“For the most part,” he said, seeming anxious again.  
Rika narrowed her eyes at him. Something had been flickering in him ever since she had come back to consciousness, and she was still having trouble nailing down what it was. He was nervous about something, that was for sure. There was a tremor in his hands, and he kept frowning without looking like he was meaning to. Then there was his unwillingness to leave her at the infirmary, even after she had woken up.  
“Sidon… Are you alright?” she asked him.  
He paused, genuinely surprised. “Ah, yes? Why ever wouldn’t I be?” he said, looking confused as he started walking again.  
“You seem like something’s eating you,”  
“I assure you, I think I’d feel it if something was.”  
Rika snorted, but it quickly turned into a hiss of pain as she clutched her side. Laughing seemed a little too much for her rib cage at the moment. Sidon had stopped again, the anxiety returning to his face, and it finally clicked what was making him act so nervous.  
“I-I’m okay,” she said quickly. “My ribs are just really bruised, that’s all. Laughing might not be a good idea for me for a while.”  
Sidon gave her a smile that was more teeth than anything, and Rika was fairly certain she was right that the Zora prince was more worried about her then he was letting on.  
“You, uh… You must have been pretty worried about me, huh?” she asked. There was no use in beating around the bush when it was starting to become fairly obvious her current state was the source of his anxiety. She was surprised she hadn’t figured it out sooner given how he practically vibrated every time she winced in pain.  
Sidon hesitated, looking as if he was going to deny his worry for a moment, and then closed his mouth, his eyes darting to the side in thought. Rika felt him relax the slightest as he held her, a faint sigh escaping him.  
“Seeing you as injured as you were was…. Distressing,” he finally admitted, still not looking directly at her. “I know that you’re a capable warrior, evidenced as much by your journey with Link, but it was still very shocking to find you as you were.”  
Rika blinked at him for a moment. “Wait… You found me?!” she said, the last of the pieces clicking together. “You said the scouts found us!”  
“They did!” said Sidon, looking surprised at her conclusion. “But I went with the guards to help Link when they told us what was going on. I would never let my friends defend themselves alone! Especially after what the scouts told us was going on, the ambush sounded very serious indeed.”  
Sidon paused as he started to carefully descend another set of stairs, trying his best not to jostle her.  
“But by the time we were all able to get there, Link had taken care of most of it, even if he was fairly injured himself,” he explained. “And then, ah… He realized he didn’t know where you were, and we began to look for you. And… I found you.”  
Rika watched him as he talked, the same quiet strain she had noticed starting to become more obvious in his face. She could imagine what that had most likely been like considering the shape she was in now. No wonder he hadn’t wanted to leave her alone like she had insisted if he was the one who’d found her; unconscious after falling out of a tree and nearly getting her head caved in. She could feel the guilt wanting to bubble up again, but she was more concerned about how Sidon didn’t seem very willing to be more open about the fact that she most likely scared him half to death.  
“...Sounds scary,” she said. She thought for a second. “Link can handle himself pretty well out there, but I did have to pick him up once in a while when things got complicated. It can really freak you out seeing a friend messed up like that.”  
Sidon made a noise she couldn’t quite place, his mouth pressing into a thin line of frustration and worry. “It was upsetting,” he admitted. His frown deepened. “As I said, I know you’re capable of many things, Miss Rika, but it doesn’t make it any less easy when you know someone you care about is hurt, and the only thing you can do is wait to see if they’ll be alright in the end...”  
He looked down at her, and had to stop himself from jumping at Rika’s expression as she looked up at him, her eyes wide with concern. He didn’t think he’d seen her look like that before.  
“I knew you were worried, but I didn’t think you were that worried!” she blurted out before he could ask what was wrong. “Sidon, I’m okay, I promise! Just, uh, you know, it hurts to sit up for a long time and I can’t breathe too deep, but I’m not going to die or something!”  
Sidon would have laughed at her, but he didn’t want to at her obvious anxiety over his well being.  
“It’s hard for me not to worry,” he said, giving her a small smile. “I worry about a great many things, and I like to take care of them myself, if I can...”  
He went quiet as he continued to walk, turning a corner. Rika thought she could smell the faintest hint of cooking fish and firewood, and craned her neck around to see that they were now finally nearing the kitchens. She was honestly surprised she could smell food cooking at this hour, but given how cold the Zora Domain could get at night, she wasn’t too surprised that the guards most likely dropped in for a warm bite to eat while on a break. The Zora preferred a mainly raw diet, but she knew there were a few dishes, like chowders and soups, that they liked cooked. She looked up as she heard Sidon take a breath, looking a little more pensive then he had before, but seeming more willing to talk about what was bothering him now then before.  
“It’s difficult for me to stand by while my friends are being taken care of, and realistically, I can do nothing,” he said, continuing his thought. “I am a Zora of action, and having to sit and watch while others do the work that I wish I could do myself can be very frustrating. I can do many things around the domain, but I can’t heal as my sister did and so to see my friends injured and in pain is… Hard.”  
Rika had quietly watched as he continued to explain why he was seeming so fretful over her, and didn’t say anything at first. She knew a little about his late sister, the Zora Champion Mipha who could apparently heal almost anything with her gift of magic, and Sidon spoke of her often when given the opportunity. But she didn’t think she’d ever heard him compare himself to her, and what he couldn’t do. He focused very much on what he could do a majority of the time, and tackled any challenge with loud enthusiasm and positivity. Nothing ever seemed to discourage him, not even the end of the world on the horizon. But she could understand feeling helpless in the face of seeing someone you cared about in pain, when just a few years ago, there had been someone you admired who could change it all in a few moments.  
She thought for a moment, and then put a hand on his shoulder. Sidon glanced down at the touch, surprised. She wasn’t really a touchy kind of person, and he knew it.  
“I know I wasn’t acting like it before, but I appreciate what you’ve been doing for me,” she said. “It sounds we’re both dealing with things that are hard for us to sit and go through… You may not be able to heal me right this instant like Mipha could, but I think what you’re doing for me now is the next best thing.”  
She sighed, the stubbornness still very much alive in her. “I didn’t want to admit it earlier, but you’re right. If I had walked all the way down here myself, I would have just hurt myself even more. I probably would have fallen down the stairs by now.”  
Rika gave him a sheepish smile. “Maybe think of it as, uh… Preventative care from my own pride and stupidity?” she suggested.  
Sidon stared at her for a moment, and then smiled, his usual, almost blindingly bright smile. Rika didn’t smile nearly as widely back at him, but was definitely doing it on the inside. She knew she had been able to say the right thing for him.  
“Miss Rika, I would never dream of considering you stupid,” he said. “Prideful, yes, but never stupid. And even then, you certainly have a right to your pride given how much you have endured in your life, but, still, thank you for letting me be able to help you despite it.”  
Sidon suddenly stopped, and Rika realized they had finally made it to the kitchen doors. She couldn’t hear much activity within, but could smell the unmistakable, strange scent of the Zora kitchens, which was a combination of fish, tea, with the barest hint of a herbs and hot chocolate. The castle’s head cook, Atureh, always had a pot of hot chocolate going for their more Hylian minded visitors who weren’t interested in lotus and duckweed tea.  
“Oh! We’re here!” Sidon said, seeming genuinely surprised how quickly they had made it down the few floors from the infirmary.  
He carefully shifted Rika’s weight again so she was resting entirely in one arm, and reached for the door. She didn’t move, confused by what he was doing at first, and then quickly tried to scramble out of his arms again.  
“No, hey, wait a minute!! Aren’t you going to let me down?!” she said, pointing at the kitchen door. “We’re here, I can at least walk into the kitchen myself!!”  
Sidon paused in his reaching. “You were just talking about this being preventative care!” he said, shocked.  
“Yeah, but you don’t have to carry me into the kitchen!! It’s embarrassing, they’re gonna think something weird’s going on!!” Rika continued to protest, trying to wriggle her way down to the floor even if all she could feel she was doing was kick her legs a little bit. She couldn’t comfortably sit up enough to try and leverage herself onto the floor from how he was holding her.  
Sidon stared at her for a moment.  
And then opened the kitchen door, walking right in while Rika made a strangled noise that sounded like she wanted to scream her discontent, but didn’t want to wake the entire domain all at once.  
Atureh looked up from the cookbook she had been perusing to see Prince Sidon standing in the doorway with Rika of the Sheikah, the young royal recorder, in his arms as the Zora prince gave her his usual, beaming smile. She inclined her head, trying to figure out what exactly was going on to have this in her kitchen so late at night.  
“Good evening, Atureh!” Sidon chirped, completely ignoring the fact that Rika had her face in her hands. “I hope we’re not bothering you, but Miss Rika could use a bite to eat to help her in her recovery from this afternoon’s skirmish! You wouldn’t happen to have anything that could do that, would you?”  
Atureh didn’t say anything at first, only continuing to stare and look mildly confused at what was happening, and then got up, closing her cookbook.  
“Well, uh, yes, Your Highness, I suppose I can find something!” she said. The Zora took a few steps forward to get a closer look at Rika, who had finally dropped her hands low enough to look over her fingers. “What seems to be the matter, exactly…?”  
Rika was sure her face was going to be stained bright red somehow. “He, uh, he wouldn’t let me walk down the stairs…” she mumbled, dropping her hands all the way and scowling up at Sidon. He didn’t seem to notice.  
Atureh reached up, her cool fingers brushing aside Rika’s silver bangs as she looked her over. She was a kind Zora, her skin a pale green with stripes of emerald and dark, dark blue, and during the day, her five rambunctious children could be found diving under the kitchen tables and zipping around servants’ legs as they took away platters of fish and soups before the hungriest of the bunch could swipe it. Rika had met her before a few times since she didn’t always like being waited on when she and Link visited the Domain with Zelda, and would come to the kitchens to make her own snacks.  
Atureh’s pale yellow eyes flickered over the scrapes and bruises on her fingers, and back to the large, purple bloom on the side of her head.  
“That’s quite the nasty bruise you’ve got there,” she said. “I can’t imagine trying to get down all those stairs with how much your head probably hurts!” She waved for Sidon and Rika to sit at the table she had just been sitting at.  
“Here, I know just the thing to help… Your Highness, would you like something as well?”  
“Oh! Yes, please!” Sidon said, his long headfin wagging the slightest as he walked into the kitchen proper. “A midnight snack would be delightful, thank you!”  
Rika thought that Sidon might finally let her down so she could at least walk over and sit on the bench herself, but he didn’t, much to her further embarrassment. He walked over to the table, and very carefully slid her out of his hold, setting her down on the bench like she was made out of china. She looked up at him, the annoyance written all over her face, but he disregarded her again.  
“What, you’re not going to sit next to me and try and feed me too?” Rika grumbled, the embarrassment making her sarcasm rise back up in an instant.  
Sidon sat across from her, making himself as comfortable as he could with how low the table was for him. “Do you want me to?” he asked.  
“No!”  
Sidon only folded his hands and grinned at her from across the table. Rika folded her arms and thought that if looks could kill, she would have set the prince on fire six times by now. She started to carefully adjust herself sitting at the wooden table, trying to be mindful of how her body responded to holding her up all by itself again instead of leaning back against someone. Everything from the base of her head and all the way down to her tailbone still ached monstrously, and now the backs of her thighs were starting to complain. She had noticed that she couldn’t turn her head without her temple or her neck muscles throbbing. But if she leaned on the table and kept most of her weight on her arms, she was pretty sure she could sit up and eat without much trouble.  
She could hear Grandma Luna in the back of her head, telling her to get her elbows off the table and to stop slouching, but sitting up straight would have to be reserved for when she could sit up and not feel like she was carrying a Guardian on her back. She cupped her chin in her hands and watched Atureh bustle around the kitchen, gathering what looked like rice from a large bin, and then started chopping at a salmon she pulled from one of the chilled barrels. It wasn’t long before the sound of boiling soup broth and the sizzle of fish filled the air. Rika rested her head on her arms, surrendering on the idea of sitting up while they waited for whatever Atureh was making.  
“How are you feeling?” Sidon asked, bending a little closer to try and get a better look at her.  
Rika shrugged her shoulders. “Sore… But that’s really about it,” she said. Sore may have been an understatement, but Sidon wasn’t a doctor so she didn’t need to give him all the details. “Also tired, but I think once I eat something, that should clear up a little bit. It’s also 1 in the morning so...”  
The silence settled in between them again, and Rika tried to concentrate on watching Atureh and listening to the sounds of her cooking instead of how her back was slowly beginning to scream more and more the longer she sat up. Sidon had started to fidget a little bit, but had begun to occupy himself with the stack of cookbooks that had been left on the table. Rika watched him flip through a few pages.  
Watching him made her think of something that had never occurred to her before. She sat up a little more despite her back muscles’ protests.  
“Hey, Sidon,” she said, getting his attention.  
Sidon paused in perusing the book he had in his hands, looking up at her. “Hm?”  
“You’ve… Told me a little bit about Mipha before,” she started, carefully edging into the topic. She didn’t really like bringing the late Champion up except when Sidon did it himself. He tried to hide it, but there was always a spark of loneliness in him whenever she came up. “But I don’t think you’ve told me much about her healing magic… I was wondering where exactly it came from?”  
Sidon put the book down. “Oh! It comes from my family!” he said, seeming surprised by her question, and answered it as if everyone knew about it.  
Rika started to tilt her head, but then a muscle twinged in her neck. She bit back a hiss of pain, then gathered her thoughts again. “So, some Zora families have magic?” she asked him, confused. “I didn’t think Zora could do anything like that...”  
“Oh, no! You misunderstand-” Sidon started but was cut off by Atureh coming over with two steaming bowls.  
“All done!” she said, and slid the bowls in front of them with a warm smile.  
She made sure to slide the bowl and spoon close enough to Rika so she wouldn’t have to reach for it. Rika sniffed, smelling the mild tang of seafood and watching the rice shift in the almost clear broth with a pan fried fillet of fish sitting on top of it. A few slices of spicy pepper, along with a scattering of sliced scallions, floated along next to it. Her stomach roared to life again, and she quickly picked up her spoon, digging into the fish fillet to see if it would give with just the spoon. It flaked easily underneath it.  
“Your body’s already doing a lot trying to heal,” Atureh said, pointing at the soup. “This should be easy enough to digest so it can focus on other things.”  
Rika looked up at her, her mouth already full, and nodded. “Mm! Thank you!” she said, and continued to dig in, tasting the gentle burn of ginger accompanying the broth and rice.  
She was quiet as she quickly wolfed down as much of the fish and soup as she could manage without eating so fast it could hurt her. She hadn’t realized how hungry she really was until she’d taken a bite. After a minute or two of silence, Rika looked up as Sidon also worked on his bowl of soup, but with less intensity as her.  
“So, what were you saying?” she asked him, still curious about his family and magic.  
“Hm? Oh!” Sidon quickly finished the bite he had in his mouth.  
“What I meant is, that it’s hereditary,” he explained. “Well, sort of. The royal family is known for having healing magic, but only the women ever inherit it. It can skip a generation or so, we’re not sure why, but our princesses and queens have always been great healers because of their power.”  
Rika had to resist trying to tilt her head again; it was just a reflex for when she was curious.  
“As far as I know, Zora aren’t known for being a magical race,” she said. “I mean, none of us are, really, a lot of the magic like that seems to come from items or extraneous circumstances, so how did the royal family’s women wind up with healing magic?”  
Sidon gave her a bright smile, and tried to finish eating up the fish fillet he had been working on.  
“There’s a story that’s been passed down in my family for a very long time explaining it,” he said, pushing his bowl to the side for the time being. “We regard it as fact for the most part, but I would assume that many people who hear it would think of it more as a family legend then anything. But I think it makes the most sense given how rare the kind of power my sister had was. They even used to say she was especially touched by the goddess’s blessing given how talented she was.”  
Rika leaned forward even more, setting herself up so her back could hopefully get more of a break then it was. Sitting up for long periods of time had definitely proved to be difficult. She would just put all her weight on the table while she ate her soup, and listen to Sidon’s story. She picked up her spoon as he began.  
“A long time ago, there was a Zora king and his queen. They were both very happy, and ruled their people with joy and peace, but they didn’t have any children of their own. One day, the queen was delighted to discover that she had finally become pregnant, and the entire Zora domain rejoiced with her and her husband for their miracle,” Sidon said, seeming as if he was reciting the story from a book. Rika almost wondered if she had to warn him he might put her to sleep if he kept talking about it as if it was a bedtime story.  
“But their troubles were far from over. The queen suddenly became very ill, and with her, her unborn child-”  
“Wait, I thought Zora laid eggs?” Rika interrupted, unable to stop herself. The idea of the Zora queen carrying the baby had never even occurred to her.  
Sidon stared at her for a second, confused by the interruption, but also by her question.  
“S-sometimes, but it depends on the family, really,” he said, almost a little embarrassed. “Some Zora lay eggs, and some have live births. It really depends on your family’s heritage sometimes. But my family carries their children.”  
“Huh. Okay...” Rika nodded and then went back to her soup.  
Sidon cleared his throat, and continued.  
“Ah, so the queen became suddenly ill along with her unborn child, and, thankfully, the royal physicians were able to cure her. But it soon became clear that her child was still suffering from the disease. The doctors told her to prepare for the worst as they had no idea how to treat her unborn baby.”  
Sidon paused to drain his soup bowl, and Rika was trying to power through the pain in her body to try and remember how he was telling the story so she could write it down later. Or perhaps she could convince him to let her transcribe what he was telling her; she didn’t think she’d seen any of this story on any of the giant stone tablets around the domain and it seemed important enough to be recorded.  
“The queen was devastated, but also determined to find a way to help her child. She had heard of many miracles that had happened on Mount Lanayru’s summit and how there was a temple dedicated to the goddess Nayru there. She decided to journey her way up the dangerous slopes, and plead her case to the goddess to save her child. Despite the cold, the monsters, and danger to her fragile health, the queen made it to the summit only to find an empty shrine and a pool of ice cold water surrounding the goddess’ statue. She was about to turn back when she heard a voice, a gentle whisper from the mountain, to offer a prayer to the goddess and then bathe in the icy spring.”  
Rika recoiled at the idea, having been at the same mountain top herself while following Link around Hyrule. She couldn’t imagine being in the spring water for more then a second, and was sure it was a miracle Link hadn’t died of exposure after getting out of it himself when they had freed Naydra so long ago. She picked up her bowl, and drained the last remaining dregs of soup. It was becoming difficult to move at all, but the soup was such a comfort that she would put up with the general ache that seemed to cover her whole body to finish it. She’d have to ask Atureh to make it for her again.  
Sidon happily continued, seeming to be really enjoying sharing his family’s history with her. She was glad he seemed to have perked up more then he had been since she had woken up.  
“The queen did as the voice asked, thinking that the danger of the frigid water would never compare to the fear of losing her child, and walked into the spring. As she prayed to the goddess, and bathed in the spring, the water turned a brilliant blue, and glittering beads of water seemed to cling to her like a gilded dress.” he said, elaborating with his hands now. Rika had given up on staying upright, and was watching him while resting her head on her arms. “When the queen returned home, the physicians were happy to report that her unborn child seemed completely healed. When the king and queen’s baby was born, they were blessed with a beautiful and healthy princess. As the princess grew older, it became clear she had a gift for healing and could command the water around her to cleanse and heal any wound or illness that was presented to her. Such was the goddess’s blessing to the queen, and her child, that she could heal herself and those around her.”  
Sidon looked down at Rika, back to his usual, sunny and bright self as he finished the story. “And that’s why only the women in my family have magic,” he concluded. “Not that our men are anything to flick your fins at, but because of the queen’s faith, our princesses are especially blessed with Nayru’s gift of wisdom and healing.”  
Rika looked up at him from her semi-collapsed state on the table, and gave him a tired smile. “That is a pretty cool story,” she said. “You’ll have to let me write it down later, if you can.”  
Sidon smiled at her as he took her empty bowl, and stacked it on top of his. “I’ll try my best to remind you,” he said. “But it certainly looks like you have been satisfied and are in need of more rest. Am I correct in that assumption?”  
“Mm-hm,” Rika said, remembering not to nod her head. Not that she had the energy for it, but at least she remembered. She watched as Atureh bustled around the both of them, picking up things around the kitchen as she prepared to shut it down again for the night.  
“Thank you so much for the food, Atureh, that soup was amazing.” she said.  
Atureh paused in sweeping up the dirty dishes from the table, and smiled down at her. The Zora gently patted Rika on the head, much like she had seen her do with her children. Usually, she wouldn’t appreciate being treated in such a way, but tonight, it was rather comforting.  
“You’re very welcome, Miss Rika,” she said. “I’m glad you liked it! I’ll get you some more tomorrow, so we can get you back on your feet as soon as possible!”  
Rika gave her a small, tired smile. “Thank you, I appreciate it,” she said.  
She looked up as Sidon got up, clapping his hands, and smiling at Atureh.  
“Well, my dear chef, I believe we’ve imposed on you enough!” he said. “Thank you for the food, as always, but I must ensure Miss Rika gets back to the infirmary safely.”  
He walked around the table, to her side, and then looked as if he was going to scoop her up again as he had in the infirmary but stopped. Rika looked up at him, a little confused by hesitation.  
“Ah, I wouldn’t want to pick you up without your permission,” he said anxiously. “Especially since you asked to walk in yourself… Would you like to try or…?”  
Rika still looked up at him, most of her upper body sprawled on the table as she had completely given up holding herself up, and was resting her chin on the wood. She would have laughed at him if it didn’t already hurt to do so, and wasn’t so incredibly tired at the same time. Sidon’s anxious expression flickered when all she did was stare up at him in response.  
“I take that as a no?”  
“My everything hurts, you can pick me up as much as you want right now,” she said. “I’ll yell at you tomorrow if I have the energy.”  
Sidon looked like he was genuinely trying not to laugh at her, and only succeeded in stifling a few snickers. “As you wish, Miss Rika,” he said, and then very carefully picked her up.  
He paused for half a second, surprised by how little she seemed to resist as opposed to last time, and gently tried to hold her in a way where she would be supported by most of his arm and shoulder so she could still see where they were going. He waved to Atureh as they left, and she cheerfully waved back as they went out the door.  
The walk back to the infirmary was much more quiet then the last, and, for a moment, Sidon had begun to worry that Rika was silently fuming at him again like she had been before. A quick peek in her direction proved that she was only dozing as he carried her; it seemed their visit to the kitchens had been enough to tire her out.  
“I didn’t think my story would be so boring as to put you to sleep so quickly,” he teased her as they walked up the stairs.  
Rika’s expression was enough of an answer to let him know she didn’t appreciate his joke in the slightest, the Sheikah narrowing her eyes and frowning in such a way that it made him think of when Muzu had an entire barrel of river snails dumped on him by accident by a trader. He laughed, trying his best not to shake her as he did, and Rika reached up to start smacking his shoulder, still not saying anything but her expression souring even more.  
“I’m sorry!” he said, grinning and shrinking from her even though she was in his arms. “Sweet Hylia, that face! I’m sorry, I won’t ever accuse you of being bored of a story again!”  
“I’m tired! You said I should try and rest!” she grumbled as she stopped swatting him. “So I’m trying!”  
“I know, I know,” he said, still trying not to laugh at her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease you… You can rest as much as you want.”  
Rika folded her arms, still pouting at him, and went back to leaning against his shoulder. Her silence was both from being tired and finally giving in to the dull ache of her bruised body, but also from contemplating the story that Sidon had told her and what it meant in correlation to Mipha.  
If the Zora believed it to be true, the devastation of losing their princess, and the reaction a majority of the older Zora seemed to have to Link and herself, made much more sense then it had. She had learned not to fault them; they viewed Link as the cause of their princess and Champion’s destruction, carrying her away into a conflict that didn’t necessarily involve her. One of their strongest soldiers could have easily been the Zora Champion, but instead it had been her. It wasn’t as bad as it used to be, but there were a few elders that could get snippy when left alone with him for too long.  
The past gives answers to the present’s questions, or at least that’s what her grandmother always said. It was why recording was always so important to her. Mipha wasn’t just a princess and healer, but was a symbol of Nayru’s protection of the Zora, her wisdom and magic. And then she was gone. No wonder the older Zora had wanted to throw the both of them out when they had arrived in the Domain for the first time.  
Rika looked up at Sidon as he carried her through the dimly lit halls and up the stairs to the infirmary. He definitely seemed in a better mood ever since he had come clean about his worry for her well-being, and the frustration he felt at not being able to do as his older sister had once been able to. Sometimes she wondered at the Zora’s grief over Mipha, and then remembered how long-lived they were. Considering Mipha’s age, it was truly a tragedy in their eyes that she had been cut down when she had been. No wonder it had been eating at him when, from his point of view, it wasn’t that long ago when someone existed that could take away his friends’ pain in a few minutes. He seemed to have relaxed quite a bit since he had gotten her to the kitchen as she had requested, but she still hoped he understood that what he could do himself was also important.  
“Thank you,”  
Sidon blinked, surprised and confused for a second as he realized she had said something, and looked at her. “For what?” he asked.  
“For everything, really,” she said. “Thanks for getting me down to the kitchens even though I was being all grouchy and stuff.”  
“You already said that, Miss Rika,” he said kindly, giving her a gentle smile.  
“I know. But I thought I should say it again.”  
He stared at her for a moment, the blue lights going past his head as he continued to walk from her point of view, and she wasn’t sure what was going on in his head for that second he looked at her. He then smiled again, and looked back ahead.  
“Thank you,” he said.  
The silence settled back in between them again, but Rika finally felt satisfied in her efforts to help comfort her friend in his own troubles.  
The infirmary was as dark and quiet as they had left it, Link having moved back to his original position of being as spread out as possible on the bed while Zelda held onto his arm. Sidon crept into the room, taking care to be aware of his surroundings since a majority of the things in the infirmary were made for smaller folk, and walked over to Rika’s bed. He looked down, about to quietly announce their arrival to her when he saw that she had finally given up and nodded off, her arms folded and head leaning against him. He hadn’t even felt her move.  
He silently walked over to her bed, and carefully laid her down, nearly holding his breath as he did. He didn’t want to bump one of the tender spots on her back or anywhere else, and wake her. He made sure to lie her flat, remembering that was how the nurses had set her up. He laid the blanket over her, and watched as she reflexively seemed to mumble in her sleep, burrowing deeper into it once she had it.  
Sidon smiled, happy with a job well done.  
“Rest well, my friend,” he said quietly, and then sat back down in the chair next to her bed, getting comfortable to wait until morning when she might need more help.


End file.
